Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish has blasted Liam Roberts’ problem on Jean-Philippe Mateta as “essentially the most reckless I’ve ever seen” – however Millwall head coach Alex Neil disagreed along with his evaluation.
The incident got here inside six minutes when Mateta challenged for a excessive ball simply exterior the world and Roberts got here out of his field, catching the Palace striker’s head along with his excessive boot.
After a examine of the pitchside monitor, referee Michael Oliver despatched Roberts off, with Mateta receiving nearly 10 minutes of medical consideration on the sector earlier than being taken off.
He was taken straight to hospital and Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner instructed BBC Sport after the sport that Mateta was acutely aware.
And in a considerably unprecedented step, Parish gave an interview at half-time to debate the incident which had left him livid.
He mentioned “He is bought a nasty gash behind his ear and a head harm. He is on the hospital and we hope for one of the best.
“There’s plenty of emotion in soccer however we have to speak about that problem. I’ve by no means seen a problem prefer it… that is essentially the most reckless problem on a soccer pitch I’ve ever seen.
“He must have a protracted, onerous have a look at himself as a result of he is endangering a fellow skilled with a problem like that.
“And why the referee must go to the display screen, I don’t know… In case you’re kicking him within the head at full drive, who is aware of what sort of injury could possibly be carried out.”
After the sport, Millwall boss Neil considerably performed down the incident, disagreeing that it was one of many worst challenges he had seen – but in addition admitted he was but to see it again.
He mentioned: “I do not assume there’s any intent. Why would there have been? It is the beginning of the sport, the ball will get put in behind and he tries to get there.
Crystal Palace’s Jean-Philippe Mateta lies injured following a excessive boot from Roberts
“I definitely would not label it because the worst problem I’ve seen. We do not need the lad to be injured so naturally, we want Mateta nicely and hope he is again on the pitch quickly.
“For me, it is mistimed, he is been despatched off, he is dissatisfied. We want Mateta nicely and it is nothing greater than that for me.
“On the time when it occurred, I did not know if he’d caught the lad or caught the ball as a result of the ball appeared to go off in a wierd angle.
“Sadly, [the screens] along side the dugout weren’t working, so we could not actually watch the incident again.
“I have never seen it again since however he is mistimed it and bought despatched off, which at that stage of the sport, makes the sport doubly tough for us. It was disappointing. He is made a name and hasn’t fairly bought it proper.”
The harm took the shine off of Crystal Palace’s win for Glasner, with the Eagles now in Sunday’s quarter-final draw.
“We will not be actually completely satisfied. After all it is an excellent win and into the quarter-finals, however whenever you lose a participant with a foul like this, you may have two completely different emotions in your abdomen,” he instructed BBC Sport.
“I am certain that the goalkeeper did not need to injure JP on this scenario as a result of no participant desires this. However for those who go for the ball like this with the depth within the head, you simply cannot do it as a result of it is so harmful. I do not need to blame him, but it surely’s a horrible foul.
“Going to the FA Cup quarter-finals is a superb achievement and now fingers crossed, we’re hoping one of the best for JP.”
